An every day account of a small racing yard and the highs and lows....

Monday, 22 April 2019

The hot weather continues which is lovely for swimming in the river, but not so good if you want to run horses. No matter how well they have watered the course with this hot drying day the moisture will be coming out of the ground as quickly as it is going in. If Ted was in the first race we might have risked it but he is in the last and the ground can't be anything other than firm by then The weather is set to change at the end of the week so we will save the horses until then. We are very lucky this season in that we have owners who haven't put any pressure on us to run horses and have put their welfare in front of getting a run. Whilst this season has been dire as far as winners are concerned we still have all the horses we started with which is the most important thing.
What we want is for the horse to have an enjoyable experience racing so that they still want to race when they are older. Jarring a horse up on firm ground could put them off at best or break them at worst. I take my hat off to trainers who take the risk and get away with it but I'm not brave enough or possibly a bit too soft!
Anyway, it has been absolutely stunning here. Yesterday we had a lovely lunch with my family in the garden. Roast lamb with all the trimmings and a jug or two of mango cider and you can't go wrong...
Today the horses have been on the walker and are now enjoying the sunshine in the field and I am going to do the same. I can feel the river calling....

About Me

Pauline has been race riding her own horses in point to points for 15 years and is now training with Doug. Pauline has recently got her trainers permit. They are both passionate about National Hunt racing and achieving maximum potential from their horses in the best possible way. This is why ‘Equine Fitness’ is a very exciting new business for them.
In 2006 Doug eventually plucked up the courage (it only took 7 years!) to propose to Pauline whilst they were on holiday in the Maldives and they married in the Lake District in June 2007.